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Mining Project Evaluation 2016

Issue: 
#52
SRK newsletter Issue 52 | Mining Project Evaluation - serving both the mining and finance communities
The term project evaluation has very broad applicability within the mining industry. However, the fundamental concept—generating information to support decision making regarding a project—is the same for all projects or stakeholders. The evaluation may take any form from an independent expert’s report in international arbitration to a due diligence report...
Kwale process plant under construction
In early 2011 SRK was engaged by the potential lenders as the Independent Engineer for the Project Financing of the Kwale Heavy Mineral Sands project in Kenya owned by Base Resources (Base). SRK put together a multi-disciplined team of engineers and scientists to review all technical, environmental, social and economic...
Distant truck on ice road
SRK was mandated to act as the Independent Engineer on behalf of the consortium of Lenders supporting a potential debt financing of the Gahcho Kué diamond project. Gahcho Kué is located in the Canadian North, approximately 300km northeast of Yellowknife. The Gahcho Kué project is a joint venture between Mountain...
Goderich Mine, largest salt mine in the world
Compass Minerals commissioned SRK to investigate various alternatives in salt mining extraction and material handling for their underground room and pillar Goderich and Cote Blanche Mines (in Ontario and Louisiana respectively). The goal was to identify a mining option that would reduce mine cost by improving operational performance and improve...
3D view of stock pile for the Dominga Norte y Sur Project
From December 2011 to July 2013, SRK carried out a prefeasibility engineering study for Andes Iron’s Dominga Norte and Sur project. The study included resource estimation, geotechnics, mine design and production schedule, Iron (Fe)-Copper (Cu) mineral processing, power and water supply, a reverse osmosis plant and slurry pipeline for pellet...
Osbourne underground headframe and winder
Ivanhoe Australia Limited’s Osborne Copper Gold Project (Ivanhoe) is located in northwest Queensland, approximately 50 km south of Ivanhoe’s existing Merlin (Cu/Mo) and Mt Elliot (Cu) deposits. Ivanhoe acquired the Osborne Copper Gold Project in September 2010 from Barrick Gold Corporation. Subsequently, Ivanhoe was renamed Inova Resources in 2012, and...
Sourcing benchmark data can be a time consuming task, and time is a valuable commodity in consulting. Benchmarking is essential for defining early stage limitations for estimating Mineral Resources and for informing clients of key areas for improving operations. Every deposit and operation has its own unique characteristics, so the...
Mineração Caraiba S.A. (MCSA) commissioned SRK to prepare a feasibility study for the Boa Esperança Project in Para, Brazil. The copper deposit is located in the municipality of Tucumã, Pará State, Brazil. The Project design plans to process 12,000 tonnes per day, using standard copper flotation, producing 762 Mlbs of...
Historic workings near the Mineral Ridge Mine, Esmerelda County, Nevada
With mine project evaluations, the tendency is to focus on the potential resources and reserves followed by the mining and processing costs. But environmental issues related to project permitting, operations and closure can have a material influence on the overall valuation of a mining asset. Proper identification of environmental liabilities...
SRK due diligence team during the site visit
The client, based in Melbourne, Australia, commissioned SRK to review the mineral sands project following the previously prepared final “Definitive Feasibility Study” and available engineering studies, to then prepare a technical report, and to present our opinion and findings. The company develops and mines mineral sands deposits and produces a...
graph - tonnage versus month from start of construction
Preparing a cash flow model to be used in project evaluation is not just an exercise in manipulating numbers in Microsoft Excel. There are numerous complexities in compiling such a model which require a thorough understanding of the project and the commodity, from geology to mining to processing to logistics...
visit to Renukoot, India with Minister Motaze
To better manage project complexity, processes are needed to guide the development of estimates and identify and mitigate related risks. The process should identify the various approvals required to renew an exploration permit or receive a mining permit. However, recent changes in public perception and sentiment have added a level...
An SRK consultant next to a helicopter at a site visit
The valuation of exploration assets is required as a basis for the commercial terms of corporate transactions, but can also support a company’s exploration strategy when every exploration dollar must be carefully considered. In exploration it is generally recognised that while the investment risks are high, the financial returns of...
Protecting the environment and communities in and around exploration and mining projects is now a major issue in valuing mineral assets, with the media and society at large elevating the need for a ‘social license’ to mine into daily conversations and even protests. The major reporting codes have recently recognised...
Nui Phao processing plant at night
SRK was commissioned by Masan Group Corporation, in Vietnam to provide an independent oversight of Masan Resources’, Nui Phao project during construction and production ramp up. This work took place over a period of 18 months. The Nui Phao project is a polymetallic deposit, located some 80km north west of...
One of the sought-after services SRK Russia provides is harmonising mining projects to meet both Russian and international standards. SRK’s comprehensive approach to implementing mining projects has become essential as the recent acute deficit of investment in Russia’s mining industry necessitates the attraction of foreign capital. At the same time,...
Aerial View of Keno District Mill, Yukon Territory
In 2012, Alexco Resource Corp. (Alexco) commissioned SRK to assist in completing an updated NI 43-101-compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment for their Eastern Keno Hill Silver District project. Located in a historic silver mining district in the Yukon Territory, Canada, there are approximately 30 known polymetallic silver-lead-zinc deposits in the area,...
SRK has been involved with multiple projects in India that involved feasibility studies. These projects included advising on requirements, preparing studies and reviewing earlier studies. SRK has recently completed a feasibility study for Balasore Alloys’ underground chromite mine in Orissa that will sit below its existing Kaliapani open pit operation...
A Model of Strength Factor A for December 2015
Cerro Lindo, owned and operated by Compania Minera Milpo S.A., is the largest underground mine in Peru, currently mining more than 20,000 tonnes per day. The mine profitably develops seven volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) ore bodies. To begin mining the secondary stopes in Ore Body 5, and realise the optimal...
Roxgold 3D Mine Model
The high-grade Yaramoko underground gold project, located in Burkina Faso, West Africa, is wholly owned by Roxgold Inc., a Canadian-based gold exploration and development company. In 2013, Roxgold commissioned SRK to lead a team of multidisciplinary consultants from SRK and other independent consulting firms in preparing a bankable feasibility study...
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